Hilary Duff Defends Selena Gomez: She Makes Great Music And People Love Her

Duff says “it must be a really tough struggle” for Gomez to deal with the daily pressures of her superstardom.

Hilary Duff successfully made it through her adolescence and into adulthood seemingly unscathed, but she feels for stars like Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez who are growing up in the public eye in the digital age.

In a new interview with TV personality Jenny Hutt, Duff opens up about the tough transition from child TV star to recording artist.
"One of the smartest things I did was go into music after," Duff explained of her post-Lizzie McGuire career. "So I could really be Hilary and not Lizzie."

Hutt asked Duff about her thoughts regarding stars like Gomez, who is the most followed person on Instagram and, as a result, one of the most scrutinized figures online.
"I think it's hard. I just feel for them," she said. "I mean, it was just a different time for me. When I was just coming on to the scene was when all the gossip stuff started, but now it's at such an extreme level. It must be a really tough struggle. I feel it and I am not even dealing with it at the level they're dealing with it."
She adds: "I think the saving grace is that she makes great music and people love her. Yeah, I'm sure there is some truth to all kinds of things they say, and then they are just making up stuff to sell magazines. People read it and it falls out of their heads so fast now. The public is smart to gossip magazines now knowing they are just trying to make money. I'm sure they gossip about it with their friends for a second, but at the end of the day, they love those people and they love their music."
Listen to the interview below, which includes a couple of music updates and a lengthy discussion about her role on Younger.